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Gangs: Youth Gangs
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Gangs have been a part of U.S. culture since the early 19th century. Immigrant youth organized themselves into street gangs, often as a means of economic survival. Social scientists have been studying and reporting on gang membership and attributes since early in the 20th century. Gangs have been seen as a normal adolescent peer activity that occurs "within a continuum of behaviors, from conventional to wild," as suggested by the classic 1927 research of Frederic Thrasher, a social scientist who studied 1,313 Chicago gangs. A more recent view by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1998 holds that "a group must be involved in a pattern of criminal acts to be considered a youth gang." This criterion is ... used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation who contend that it is "participation in criminal activity" that separates a community group or social club from a gang.
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Gangs are a complicated problem and solutions are often difficult to find in the midst of popular myths and stereotypes. Staying informed of new studies and developments will aid in your understanding of the nature of youth gangs. The resources listed here include publications and Web sites to review for additional information.
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Gangs generally have a leader or group of leaders who issue orders and reap the fruits of the gang's activities. A gang may ... wear their "colors", wear certain types of clothing, tattoos, brands, or likewise imprint their gang's name, logo, or other identifying marks on their bodies. Many gangs also adopt certain types of hairstyles and communicate through the use of hand signals and graffiti on walls, streets, school work, and school property. Many gangs of today, especially youthful gangs, break the law to provide funding for gang activities or to further the gang's reputation on the streets.
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Gangs have no good purpose. They are groups of violent youths who terrorize other gang members and innocent people. Many teens are misled into joining gangs because they think it will improve their lives.
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Gangs aren't just a concern in the inner city, they are in the suburbs and even rural communities. Also, gangs are not just a concern for minority youth, they are a concern for all youth. Congregational youth ministry is one place to address the dangers of gang activity. After all, violence is the second leading cause of death among males between the ages of 14 to 21.
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Gangs... are not simply a "street family" to some of the nation's disenfranchised. As distinguished by the U.S. Department of Justice, "a group must be involved in a pattern of criminal acts to be considered a youth gang." 2
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Youth Gangs